BSP leader's murder: Police announces Rs 1 lakh reward for Swami

Delhi Police Friday declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh on Swami Pratibhanand, one of the main accused in the murder of BSP leader and business tycoon Deepak Bhardwaj, police said.

Pratibhanand, 48, has changed his locations in at least seven cities in separate states since the March 26 murder of Bhardwaj at his farmhouse in south Delhi's Rajokri.

Pratibhanand, a resident of Beed district in Maharashtra, is suspected to have travelled to Nanded in Maharashtra, Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Haridwar in Uttrakhand, Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Bangalore in Karnataka, Patna in Bihar, and Kolkata in West Bengal since the murder.

Deepak Bhardwaj. File pic

"We have declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone who will provide information to Delhi Police about Pratibhanand," said a police officer.

The officer said that the swami, who usually wore saffron clothes, has been wearing shirts and trousers to avoid being detected.

Police have released a sketch of Pratibhanand and questioned over 20 people at Jhajjar in Haryana, where he was living before becoming untraceable.

Pratibhanand had received a contract of Rs 2 crore to arrange the shooters to eliminate Bhardwaj. He was also provided a token amount of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh.

Bhardwaj was gunned down by hired killers Sunil Mann alias Sonu and Purushottam Rana alias Monu at his 35-acre farmhouse in south Delhi. They have been arrested.

Police have also arrested Rakesh alias Bhola, the owner of the car used by the killers after the murder, and Rakesh Malik, a commercial pilot, who allegedly hired the shooters.